My Favourite Garden Photo's from 2014 ... Part 1!

Good Morning!

I'm back today with a few of my favourite photo's that I've taken over the past year. I have selected one from each month, which as you can imagine when it came to the Summer was quite tricky! I am sharing the first 6 months with you today and the rest will follow.

I hope you enjoy looking back with me!

JANUARY

My first attempt at growing an Amaryllis, I loved how big the blooms were in such a deep red colour.

FEBRUARY

How could I not include this one, not only is it the blog header but it was also featured as a Reader Photo of the month in the Garden Answers Magazine! My prize was a set of Felco Secateurs which I wouldn't be able to afford myself.

MARCH

Spring Bedding provides you with a burst of bright colour on what can be rather dreary days. It certainly livened this container up!

APRIL

Back in April I was drawn to this Primula, I love the bright petals edged in white. It's even blooming right now in my conservatory.

MAY

I had to share this photo with you all from May. These were my first attempt at growing Spring Onions, well my first attempt at growing Vegetables full stop. 

JUNE

To finish with is a Rose that me and Andy chose last year called 'Champagne Moment', which is rather fitting considering we got engaged the same year. I also entered this photo into an online competition which led me to win a David Austin Rose.

I hope you have enjoyed this first set of photographs, why not share some of your own? I'l be back with the rest next week.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

Before we get started I'd just like to say I hadn't forgotten about posting a Checklist last week, this next part will explain why I didn't. Now that we are into Winter the Checklist's would consist of basically the same thing each week, which I felt you may find a bit boring and repetitive.

So today's Checklist is one that covers things you can do over the up - coming weeks. The blog will also be a little quieter as there isn't too much to do in my own garden but as soon as I do have something, I will share it with you all. 

1. Clean your Tools - I know you may think I am stating the obvious but now is a good time to check they are all clean and in good working order ready for next year.

2. Lists - Why not make a list of all the plants you have in your garden? That way when you are debating adding more you can see what you already have without having to go outside. You may end up reminding yourself of ones you forgot you had!

3. Seeds - Check seeds are still within use by dates, dispose of ones that aren't and donate packets that you no longer need to others. You could also repeat the list idea mentioned above.

4. Plan - If you are in the mood to be super organised why not draw a plan of your garden? That way you can decide what may go where next year along with anything that may need moving or replacing.

5. Roses - Now is a good time to decide if you would like to add any Roses to your collection. Planting bare root is also cheaper than buying them in a container for those of you that may be wanting to pinch the pennies!

6. Ventilation - Keep opening GH Doors & Windows during the day to allow fresh air in. This will also help prevent Grey Mould. Make sure you check plants daily for this as it can make an appearance really quickly.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Seeds - On a rainy day why not go through your seed collection and throw out any old & unused seed packets then replace those that you like. You could also make a list of what you have to make it easier than sifting through each one every time you need to check! You may also be able to take advantage of offers with the new seed catalogues being released at this time of year.

2. Cyclamen  -Keep checking for Grey Mould or fallen leaves on plants such as Cyclamen daily and remove when seen. Also it is better to water them from below to prevent wet leaves and the plant rotting. If you want to keep them indoors like me then they like a cool location without direct sunlight. So my North facing un-heated conservatory suits them fine! 

3. Hellebores - Check foliage for signs of black spot, if seen cut down the stems but don't place them on your own compost heap as the spores will spread. It's best to either burn them or place them in your council collection bin. Cutting out these stems will also help the new flower shoots get all the light they need.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Plant Roses - Now is a good time to indulge in a new Rose, or many! Remember to plant them with the graft covered and a good mulch!

2. Tulips  -November is a good time to plant Tulips, so if you haven't already done so it's time to get it done. This year I have gone for the variety 'Black Parrot'.

3. Hardy Fuchsia's - Speaking of mulching it is also recommended that you give the crowns a thick mulch for the Winter. You can do this at the same time as planting your Roses!

4. Cuttings - If you have any plants such as Currants and Gooseberries in your garden, you can take some Hardwood Cuttings from them now.

5. Treat - Lastly why not treat yourself to a good Gardening book to read on those days that the weather prevents any time outside. I know I am! Not only is it something for you to enjoy but it may give you ideas for next year.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

I know it's a little late this week ,so i'l get on with the Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Remove Yellow Leaves - If like me you are over - wintering some Pelargoniums, make sure you remove any leaves that are starting to turn yellow or have fallen off.

2. Ventilation  -Even though the days are cooler it's always good to keep your Greenhouse door open throughout the day to provide good ventilation for your plants. Failure to do so can cause grey mould which will spread very quickly. Just don't forget to close it back up again on a night!

3. Leaves - Keep collecting fallen leaves for Leaf Mould. Even if it is just once a week you'll be glad you did it come next year.

4. Slugs - With all the wet weather recently it seems the slugs are starting to make more of an appearance! Keep checking your Outdoor Pots and Greenhouse's, I've had a few sneaky slugs finding there way into my GH recently! 

5. Enjoy - Even though there aren't our usual summer displays at this time of year it does give you the ability to look at your garden and enjoy the Evergreen Plants & Grasses, along with seeing which areas could benefit from even more permanent planting structures.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Winter Bulbs ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is short and sweet about something that you can do this week, will take you 5 minutes and ensure some well needed colour in the Winter months!

As I mentioned in the Checklist now is the time to plant Winter bulbs, especially if you want something in bloom at Christmas. Well why not try some Narcissus - Paperwhites! These can be planted in pots now and will bloom in about 8 weeks, giving you some great indoor blooms.

I decided to try three different techniques of growing them. The first is one I saw on-line of planting them in a clear vase with just a layer of stone / grit in the bottom. Add some water to about a third of the way up of the layer and ensure this is kept topped up. I haven't tried this before so it'l be interesting to see if it works!

I also tried them in some plastic vases with some compost and another layer of grit. 

Along with these techniques I planted the two left over bulbs in just compost. It'l be interesting to see which way performs better, if any!

Thanks for stopping by & have a good weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Auriculas ... Lot's Of Auriculas!

Good Morning!

Today's post is a little job that I managed to do a few days ago, yes even though it is November there are still some things you can do.

A few weeks ago my Grandad gave me some Auricula plug plants and it was time to pot them on last weekend. Ideally you should do this in early Autumn but you can still do it now if needed. Auricula's start putting new growth on in the Autumn so it's good to get small plants potted then. 

You can pot them on in either Teracotta or Teracotta coloured plastic pots. 

I like to use a mix of John Innes no.2 mixed with Horticultural Grit for the compost finishing off with a top layer of Grit.

TIP - When watering you only need about a teaspoons worth at a time and try to make sure you do not splash the leaves.

As you can see my collection spreads right across the top shelves of my staging. If I have counted correctly I have 40 plants and don't forget you can indeed split plants to create even more. It should certainly be a good display when they're flowering ... fingers crossed!

These can be kept outside during the winter but they do need protection from the rain as the leaves don't like getting wet. So until I manage to persuade my Dad to build me an Auricula Theatre (*hint hint* I hope you are reading this ... ) they will have to make do in the Greenhouse for now.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Deadhead Violas - If like me you have some Hanging Baskets or tubs including Violas, make sure you keep on top of the dead heading to keep the blooms going.

2. Pot Feet  -To help prevent outdoor containers becoming waterlogged in the winter wet raise them onto pot feet or wood offcuts to help them drain properly.

3. Rockery Plants - Protect Rockery Plants from the rain by bringing them inside over the winter. Alternatively place a sheet of glass raised on bricks over the top of them. They are perfectly fine with the cold they just don't like the wet.

4. Christmas Displays - I know it feels like it's ages away but now is the time to plan your pot displays for over the festive season. Bulbs such as Amaryllis and Narcissus - Paperwhite are best started off now to ensure that you have blooms in time.

5. Indoor Plants - Lastly why not bring a plant inside to enjoy now that the days are getting cooler and darker? It makes much more sense when you will be spending more time indoors!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Autumn Colours ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is all about the colours of the season, we are well into Autumn now and there's still plenty of colour around. Why not bring it into your home like I have? Although my Chrysanthemums suffered from white rust there were still some lovely blooms that I could use which I teamed with some Heuchera flowers.

There's also still plenty of plants that can give you instant colour right now. Heuchera's are one of my favourites and provide colour all year round. Here I have used 'Plum Pudding' along with an unknown Hebe I got in a buy 1 get 1 free offer and some White Viola's. 

Next to the pot is another Heuchera called 'Marmalade' which has a wonderful leaf colour with a pink underside.

As you can see here the pots fit in well with my others near the conservatory and are certainly providing lot's of colour! 

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Collect Leaves - Leaf mould is great for adding to composts and mulching, to make your own simply collect any fallen leaves and store in a bin bag (with holes created with a pencil / pen). You can keep it somewhere such as down the side of a shed and within a year or two you will have your own fantastic leaf mould, for free!

2. Begonia Tubers  -Along with storing Dahlia tubers it is also time to store Begonia tubers. They can be pretty much treated the same way or you can pot them up into small pots once cutting the foliage back.

3. Over - Wintering - Make sure that you have moved all the plants you want to over winter under protection within the next few days. With November only just around the corner lower temps & frosts are on their way!

4. Plant Fruit Trees & Hedging - Autumn is a great time to plant these as it will help them become established quickly.

5. Soil - Now is also a good time to give your soil a boost by digging in some well rotted manure or by adding a mulch of compost as you saw I did last week.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Make A Feature ...

Good Morning!

Today I thought I'd share a few little jobs that I did this week and so could you. 

First up I wanted to make a little feature, nothing too fancy or fussy, just something to fill the gap where the patio table goes in summer otherwise I'm left with a massive empty space of patio! All I did was have a re-shuffle of some outdoor pots and placed some of various sizes in the spot. I will most likely change around what's here but for an instant effect it works well.

You can also spot a new addition which I couldn't resist on a Clearance table at the Garden Centre last week. It is called 'Salvia - Royal Bumble' it's hardy and has lovely flowers, although in windy weather they aren't the easiest to photograph! lol

I also treated myself to this 'Echeveria - Lilacina' which is a lovely shade of grey with a pink tint.

This week I also planted out the rest of my Autumn / Winter Bedding which includes trailing Viola's ...

Primroses & Bellis were also planted in my side border along with a couple of left over Wallflowers and the border was also given a mulch of compost.

More bedding was used around the edge of the Raised Bed just to help it to not look too bare.

TIP - As you can see here you don't have to always hang Hanging Baskets up. They make great containers too!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Collect Seed - On a dry day now is a good time to collect seed, such as seeds from an Allium head and sow them straight away.

2. Roses  -Along with cutting down Roses to help prevent wind rock over winter, don't forget to collect any fallen leaves beneath the plant to help prevent disease. Of course you can wait until the last buds have flowered before cutting them down if like me you still have blooms to enjoy.

3. Chrysanthemums - Make sure tall Chrysanthemums are well staked to give them the support they need. Especially if you have some outdoors and are prone to windy weather.

4. Sweet Pea's - If you have sown Sweet Pea's this autumn make sure you pinch out the growing tips to encourage bushier growth.

5. Sow - There is still time to sow Hardy Annuals such as Calendula's for flowers next year.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garlic, Onions & Flowers ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a little catch up with how things are getting on in the garden.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I planted my Autumn Garlic & Onions? Well they have started showing some healthy growth, the Garlic is a little further ahead than the Onions. Last week I also planted an extra row of Garlic with some of what I had left in-between the Wallflowers and Onions.

You may also spot that my Chrysanthemum's are looking a bit bare, I have had to strip the leaves off due to White Rust again. You are probably best getting rid of them but considering they were blooming and the Rust shouldn't transfer to the Garlic & Onions I thought I might aswell enjoy the flowers for a bit longer before removing them.

I had a lot of Onion bulbs left and I didn't want to chuck them but I had nowhere else to plant them. So I have sown them in some cell trays which have been placed in a sheltered place and  they should be happy living there until there is space for them to be planted out, either in a few weeks or in the Spring. I thought I would also try this with the 6 remaining Garlic bulbs I had left, well you might aswell give it a go instead of them going to waste!

Meanwhile elsewhere in the Garden I have some nice colour creeping in, 

from the Viola's in the Hanging Baskets ...

The Viburnum Tinus in the Front Border ...

Along with the Primroses in the Pots ...

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Lift Dahlia Tubers - You can choose to wait until the first frosts turn their leaves black, but if you want to get on with this job then you can lift Dahlia Tubers now. Cut down the stems to a few inches above the ground, lift with a fork being careful not to damage the tubers, bring under cover and turn them upside down for a few days to release moisture then once they are dry store in a cool, dark place, ideally covered in a crate over the Winter.

2. Finish Planting  - If you haven't already, finish planting out your Winter Bedding whilst the ground is still warmer than it will be in a few weeks! I Here you can see I have added some Wallflowers to my Raised bed to ensure colour early next year and re-vamped some pots where my Abutilon was.

3. Veggies - If you are planning on growing Beans next year, it's time to prepare the trench for them now ready for next year. You can also cut down the yellowing foliage on Asparagus plants to about 5cm above the ground.

4. Plant Out - Now you could also plant out any Perennials or Biennials that you have grown from seed this year.

5. Enjoy Chrysanthemum's - Chrysanthemum's are starting to show colour and bloom so now is the time to enjoy their Autumn colour. However make sure you keep checking them because due to the Wet & Mild Weather we are having, White Rust is very common and as you can see my plants have succumbed to it!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX